Learning Theories Conversation, Module 2

In math it is often stated that the sum of all parts are equal to the whole.  After reading the blogs and responses of multiple learning theorists, I have come up with a similar statement for learning theories. It is this: No one, single, learning theory is equal to the power of all learning theories combined. 

Reaching this conclusion has been a work in progress, and reading the findings and opinions of leading learning theorists helped me come to this assertion.  First and foremost, the learning _isms have permeated educational thinking for decades.  This is only natural, as it would be impossible to be successful at teaching without understanding how people learn. However, how much of learning can be attributed to one specific learning theory?

I have always felt that all learning theories have always had their merit, but some were more equipped to handle certain aspects of the teaching and learning process.  In reading the banter between the learning theorists Stephen Downes, Bill Kerr, and Karl Kapp, I found myself agreeing with Downes about behaviorism and its relation to education.  While it is understandable that behaviorism can be used to establish and maintain classroom routines and establish a well run classroom management plan, I have always struggled with the application of behaviorist theory to actual content instruction.  While it may come easy for some, behaviorism seems almost useless for teaching content materials and thinking skills.  Because behaviorism is classified as the response to a certain stimulus, I gathered that Kerr categorizes content as stimulus.  But it seems cold and “dehumanising” (Downes word, not mine) to think that students respond to information because they have been conditioned to do so.  This eliminates the use of imagination and creativity as viable solution to problems.

I started this blog with my perspective on learning theories, and my perspective on behaviorism more specifically, to prove a point.  The point was made so elegantly by Kapp in saying that it requires the merger of all learning theories to fully unlock the potential in the teaching and learning process.  As is the case with so many aspects of education, a one-size-fits-all mentality does not exist.

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.kaplaneduneering.com/kappnotes/index.php/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational/

Learning Theories in Module 1

The world would be a better place and I would be a very wealthy person if I could determine how people learn best.  Unfortunately, neither will happen on my account.  It would be easy to be able to take a paint brush and with one broad stroke, cast a learning theory across the world.  However, this is not the case as individuals learn in different ways and at different paces.  Obviously the brain is one of the most important factors in determining how people learn best.  The short video below demonstrates how the brain acts during the learning process.  Because individuals are never the same, their brains also interact with stimuli in different ways.  This is the central concept of how people learn.

To me people learn best when they are engaged and their brain is creating routes and highways that allow them to access information quickly and efficiently when needed.  This can also be applied to learning theory as it applies to educational technology.  The wealth of information that technology puts people in contact with requires those people to filter through that information and create pathways in their brain to the new information.

Although the power of our brains can not be duplicated, technology has afforded us the ability to create thinking machines and machines that can house information much like out brain.  Not only does technology help us find information, interpret information, and store information but it also allows people to publish and distribute information more efficiently than ever before.  Technology can change learning and enhance the way people learn, but it must be noted that technology is only a vehicle for information, and learning can and will happen whether technology is present or not.